History in Focus

Producers reflect on season 2 and plans for season 3 with new content format. PhD candidates discuss research on settlers post American Revolution. Importance of diverse historical topics in podcasts, challenges faced by academic historians. Gratitude for interviewing senior scholars like Eric Foner. Farewell and gratitude for season two.

An expert on climate crisis in India and a researcher on environmental crisis in Detroit and Flint discuss past environmental challenges. Topics include the energy crisis in India during the 1970s, impact on society, environmental justice in Detroit and Flint, local expertise in Flint water crisis, and evolution of environmental justice movement.

Arlene Díaz and Kalani Craig discuss their piece exploring the Spanish American War, the use of digital methods, and the place of collaboration in historical research. Then, with Hettie Williams, we revisit the life and work of historian Marion Thompson Wright.

Experts in historiography and the Holocaust discuss challenges faced by history instructors, integrating historiography in secondary school curriculum, and the emotionalization in far-right politics. Woody Holton talks about triggering, the Far Right targeting Black history, and the shift towards emotional appeals in American far-right politics.

Producer Matt Hermane speaks with historian Brenda Child about the March 2024 History Lab feature on Contemporary Indigenous Art and History, part of AHR’s ongoing series on “Art and Historical Method.” Then we revisit now past AHA president Edward Muir’s presidential address—titled “Conversations with the Dead”—at this year’s AHA Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

Explore the picnicking practices of Sephardic Jewish communities in the late Ottoman Empire, focusing on food, setting, and cultural exchange. Discover the evolution and significance of picnicking in the Ottoman Empire, including the experiences of different social groups. Experience the Sephardic Los Angeles community and their global connections. Dive into attendees' experiences at the AHA conference, discussing panels on historiography, women in colonial Mexico, and race in the Atlantic world. Learn about the development of a new course on US women's history.

Debra Blumenthal examines slave markets in 15th century Spain and their influence on conceptions of women’s health. And Beeta Baghoolizadeh discusses the legacy of racialized forms of enslavement in 19th and 20th century Iran.

Historian Tore Olsson discusses designing a history course around the popular video game Red Dead Redemption 2. And Kalani Craig introduces the AHR’s new guidelines for Digital Media Submissions.

Durba Ghosh introduces the AHR forum “Mismonumentalizing and Decolonizing: Public History as History for the Public.” We also hear from one of the forum’s contributors—Thomas Adams and Sue Mobley—on their work on recent efforts to rename streets in New Orleans.

Historians Darrell Meadows and Joshua Sternfeld discuss the AHR Forum they assembled on AI and the practice of history. And Brian DeLay delves into his article on the role of the international arms trade for revolutions in the Americas.